The Doors of Hope

On December 6, 2024, the Advent sermons began at the Vatican, where the new Preacher of the Papal Household, our Br. Roberto Pasolini gave his first talk. As we well know he received this assignment from the Holy Father on November 9, succeeding our own Cardinal Br. Raniero Cantalamessa.

The Advent Reflections are small catecheses held each year on Fridays during the Advent season as a preparation for Christmas, in which the Pope, together with the Cardinals, Bishops, priests and employees of the Papal Household engage with the reflections of the Preacher of the Papal Household.

This year the proposed theme is Hope, as a prelude to the celebration of the Jubilee of 2025, which will begin on December 24, 2024, with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

“This year, the Advent season not only prepares us for Christmas, but also accompanies us toward the coming Jubilee, a graceful occasion to renew the experience of God's love, which stirs in the heart the certain hope of salvation in Christ” (Spes non confundit, 6).

The voices of the prophets, very present in this liturgical season, strongly urge us not to lose our bearings on the path toward the Kingdom of God. By listening to them, we can recognize which are the doors that usher us into the mystery of our humanity with renewed hope.

-       The door of awe, to know how to admire the seeds of the Gospel present in the world and in history.

-       The door of trust, to walk toward others with respectful and open hearts.

-       The door of littleness, to not be afraid to finally become ourselves.

In his first sermon, Br. Roberto Pasolini invited us to set out by opening ourselves up to wonder, knowing that this implies loosening the rigidities of the heart, saying “no” to everything that threatens to close and weigh us down; fear, resignation, cynicism. Only in this way will we be able to open ourselves to the newness of God and cross the doors of hope, in view of a new time and perhaps even a new way of being Church in the world and for the world.

We ask the Lord to accompany us on this Advent journey in preparation for Christmas and the beginning of the Jubilee of “Hope.”